Australia, NZ shares fall on North Korea missile worries

Aug 29 (Reuters) - Australian shares eased on Tuesday, tracking falls on Wall Street and markets across Asia after North Korea fired a missile that passed over northern Japan, sending jitters through the region.

U.S. stock futures opened sharply lower overnight as investors reacted to the launch, which follows a North Korean threat earlier this month to fire missiles at Guam, a U.S. held Pacific island.

“There’s real worries about what’s happening in the United States, with North Korea, and that’s adding to geopolitical tensions,” said Mathan Somasundaram, a market portfolio strategist with Blue Ocean Equities.

The S&P/ASX 200 index fell 1 percent, or 56.29 points, to 5,653.6 by 0211 GMT, led by declines in the financial sector.

Australia’s big four banks lost around 1.5 percent each, with Commonwealth Bank of Australia falling as much as 1.8 percent to a nine-month low.

CBA extended Monday’s losses after the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) said it would establish an inquiry into the bank, following its alleged breaches of money-laundering and counter-terrorism finance rules.

The materials index lost 0.5 percent with metals declining on profit taking, while gold prices rose to the highest in nine-and-a-half months on the mounting geopolitical tensions.

Gold miner Newcrest Mining Ltd rose as much as 3.4 percent, while Northern Star Resources Ltd also gained up to 3.4 percent, hitting a two-month high.

“Spot gold had a big move last night, about 1.5 percent. This morning, when we heard about North Korea, it moved another half percent. There’s definitely a bit of a risk-off ... so gold and bonds are doing better,” Somasundaram said.